Sci-Fi Storm

With tonight’s debut of Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen. on Syfy (10pm ET), Syfy and CHOW.com are offering a sweepstakes to win a trip for two to LA and meet and dine with Marcel Vigneron himself. If you aren’t familiar with the show yet, see the video clip below:
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As rumored last November, the long developing remake of Dune is dead. Paramount failed to come to an agreement to extend the rights, and now the option has lapsed. Producer Richard P. Rubinstein says, “I’m going to look at my options, and whether I wind up taking the script we developed in turnaround, or start over, I’m not sure yet.”

Along with the big programming announcement, Syfy also said that with the success of their “Countdown to Christmas Week” last December which featured special holiday episodes of Eureka and Warehouse 13, this year those shows plus Ghost Hunters and Haven will feature holiday-themed episodes, and the week’s centerpiece this year will be Neverland, featuring the voice of Keira Knightley as Tinker Bell, which we’ve reported on earlier.

Syfy will also have a Twilight Zone New Years marathon for the 17th straight year.

Syfy just announced it’s new slate of shows…and it is big. Yes, it includes a lot of reality shows (they pay the bills), but there are some interesting twists…below you can read the full press release for all the details, but here are some highlights…FYI, exact dates are to be determined later…

First off, the scripted programming…Alphas, which will debut in July along with new episodes of Warehouse 13, Eureka and Haven, is about a team of seemingly ordinary people who have brain anomalies that give them extraordinary mental and physical powers. They form a team led by Dr. Leigh Rosen (Emmy Award-winner and Oscar nominee David Strathairn) to investigate cases of other possible Alpha activity.

Battlestar: Blood & Chrome (see previous news) is still in development and is awaiting a debut date.

On the reality side, three series are ready for this summer:

Haunted Collector (June, working title) follows John Zaffis and his family of renowned paranormal investigators as they investigate possible paranormal objects (Ghost Hunters meets Hollywood Treasure?)

Legend Quest (July) follows Ashley Crowe, a renowned real-life symbologist, in what is described as “Indiana Jones-type adventure and Da Vinci Code-style connections”

Paranormal Witness (September) – a combination documentary and drama recreation about people who have had paranormal experiences that defy explanation.

In the development bin there are three series described as “Single-camera half hours”. I believe this is what Mark Stern referred to as comedies in dinner last October, but done single-camera style, more typically associated with dramas:

Three Inches, about daydreamer and underachiever Walter Spackman who gets struck by lightning and develops the power to transport objects with his mind – but only three inches. And he discovers others with these “super” powers…

In The Dark, which follows a team of inept paranormal investigators.

Me and Lee, where Lee Majors comes to the rescue of a down-on-his-luck 20 something who has back surgery that goes bad, and brings him to his high-tech lab and makes him bionic.

And in development in reality series is a very long slate, with shows that feature Motley Crüe’s Tommy Lee investigating secret societies and rituals, Cleve Hall and his family run monster factory; Deepak Chopra having dinner and discussions with interesting guests; and a Scrapheap/Junkyard Wars type show for making “chain reaction” machines.

On the movie front, there is a lot as well, going well into 2012. Red Faction: Origins, based on the video game series, is probably the most anticipated and features Robert Patrick (Terminator 2), Brian Jacob Smith (Stargate Universe), and Gareth David-Lloyd (Torchwood). A few other titles that stood out (titles subject to change – you can get more details below): Zombie Apocalypse, Snowmageddon (they stole the title from my tweet in February – they WERE filming at my house! :)), and Dungeons and Dragons 4 – although I’m not aware of a third movie having been produced…oh, and let’s not forget Bigfoot, The Asylum’s next stunt-cast monster movie, featuring Danny Bonaduce (The Partridge Family) vs. Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch). Time to start thinking of some of my own celebrity deathmatch movies…how about Billy Mumy vs. Wil Wheaton? 🙂

LOTS of interesting stuff. Of course, more scripted dramas would be nice…
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If you are in Britain…Brian Blessed (who has starred and guest starred in far too many genre shows to mention, and rumored to possibly play King Dain in The Hobbit), as well as Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules, Hattie Hayridge and Norman Lovett from Red Dwarf, have been confirmed to attend the Spring Memorabilia show this weekend (March 26th-26th) and the NEC Birmingham. Note that Craig Charles and Norman Lovett will be there Sunday and Hattie Hayridge and Brian Blessed on Saturday. Danny John-Jules will be there both days.

They join a very extensive list of stars from all sorts of shows including Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, and more. Check out the official web site for more details.

In the next sneak peek clip of the all-new episode of Merlin, Morgana appears before contestants of a battle created in Camelot where there are no rules and it shall go on until there is one man standing. Arthur looks prepared and confident until Morgana reveals the reigning champion is also taking part in the battle. As fans look on while the reigning champ announces his presence by slaying another, Arthur realizes he better re-think his game plan. Watch the clip and tune in on Friday at 10/9c on Syfy to find out if Arthur will be the last one standing, or if the reigning champ and others make that feat difficult.

At last! Before anything else could go wrong, filming has finally started on The Hobbit. Most recently held up to Peter Jackson’s ulcer, which capped off a long and torturous history for the production. Hopefully production proceeds without issue.

As if to prove it, they release pictures of Jackson inside Bilbo’s house on Bag End…

It sounds bizarre, but perhaps this would blend one of the most popular TV drama formats with a fantasy genre and come out on top…BleedingCool is reporting that Terry Pratchett’s Discworld setting is being adapted into a TV series, following the City Watch police force of Ankh-Morpork. Terry Jones (Monty Python) and Gavin Scott (The Mists Of Avalon) are working on scripts for Prime Focus Productions, the production company that is also working on a series based on the Pratchett and Neil Gaiman collaboration collaboration, Good Omens, and the previous Discworld TV productions.

Today was the BBC Comic Relief Red Nose Day broadcast, which included two mini-episodes of Doctor Who, called “Space” and “Time”. What happens when the TARDIS materializes within itself? Recursive comedy?

And I just found out that the BBC is also producing three “Prequels”, which will be available on the BBC web site ahead of their associated episodes, the first of which will be before the series-opening two parter. No word on if they will be available to U.S. viewers yet.
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Director Darren Aranofsky (Black Swan), who has been in the midst of pre-production for Wolverine with Hugh Jackman awaiting the green light, has abruptly quit the production. Fox has confirmed with a statement from Aranofsky: “As I talked more about the film with my collaborators at Fox, it became clear that the production of ‘The Wolverine’ would keep me out of the country for almost a year. I was not comfortable being away from my family for that length of time. I am sad that I won’t be able to see the project through, as it is a terrific script and I was very much looking forward to working with my friend, Hugh Jackman, again.”

Aranofsky split from actress Rachel Weisz last year, and they have joint custody of their son.